Locals optimistic despite national sales report

VICTORVILLE • The U.S. Commerce Department reported Friday that retail sales across the country fell 0.4 percent in March, indicating consumers are thinking twice about opening their wallets.

But according to some High Desert business people, local consumer confidence is rebounding.

"Despite what the experts are saying, the sky is not falling," said Donald Tatera, franchise owner of The Decorating Den in Apple Valley. "Sales are way up and are very close to exceeding total sales for all of last year, and we're only in April."

Consumers cut back across a wide range of categories last month, with sectors such as gas station sales dropping 2.2 percent, figures that placed a dark cloud on February's 1 percent increase, according to the report.

Tatera said that before April's High Desert Home Show in Victorville, he knew that a "pent-up demand" for home remodeling was about to be unleashed.

With ballpark figures of $5,000 to $40,000 for kitchen facelifts and total remodels, Tatera said the economy in his industry is bouncing back in the High Desert.

Tatera said the national figure for The Decorating Den is up $3.5 million for the first quarter of 2013 compared to last year.

David Greiner, whose family has owned Greiner Buick GMC in Victorville since 1986, said he is also seeing pent-up demand for new and pre-owned vehicles.

Unlike the Commerce Department's report of auto sales dropping 0.6 percent nationally last month, Greiner's business has seen a 19 percent increase in auto sales in March compared to the same month last year.

"We have been seeing a steady acceleration of sales since January," Greiner said. "We're seeing smaller companies purchasing three or four vehicles for their business. We have not seen that trend for several years, so that's an encouraging sign."

Greiner said the underserved market, along with available credit, seems to be adding to the upsurge in car sales.

As chairman of the board for the Victor Valley Chamber of Commerce, Greiner said the chamber has added double-digit members for three consecutive months, something he has never seen before.

The government's first look at consumer spending, which drives about 70 percent of economic activity, department stores, electronics retailers and sporting goods outlets, all reported lower sales, according to the report.

The decline in March showed higher Social Security taxes, which has taken a bigger bite out of payroll checks since January, has started to affect consumers and could dampen growth in the spring, the Associated Press reported.

Nationally, department stores such as Macy's and big discount stores such as WalMart and Target, dropped 1.2 percent.

But owners of smaller- and medium-sized High Desert businesses are seeing a different picture.

After opening their Simply Cake bakery less than five years ago, Matthew Bridges said his family's shop is doing well.

Bridges said sales rose sharply after opening, but as the economy began to eat away at household budgets, consumers cut back.

"We're seeing brides downsizing to smaller cakes for their wedding photos, and then ordering a sheet cake to feed their guests," Bridges said. "People are doing the little things to save money."

Dave Finnerty, general manager at Harley-Davidson of Victorville, said his market is driven by a variety of factors including the weather, but overall sales and foot traffic are doing well.

"I can't share exact figures, but I've been here for six years and this is probably the best year so far," Finnerty said. "We always seem to do very well."

Jane Wolf, owner of Acacia Florist in Hesperia, said even though she is behind on paperwork and cannot see recent numbers, her business has not decreased.

"I think we are on an upswing in sales because we are so busy," said Wolf, who has weathered many economic storms over the past 28 years in business. "We had a great Valentine's Day, so hopefully we're on an upswing."

Many economists still predict economic growth accelerated to an annual rate of roughly 3 percent in the January to March quarter, which would be a significant increase from the anemic growth rate of 0.4 percent reported for the October to December quarter.

"Just remember Chicken Little and keep working hard" Tatera said. "The numbers say the sky is still in one piece."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Rene De La Cruz may be reached at 760- 951-6227 or at RDeLa Cruz@VVDailyPress.com.

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